Elected Gabimaru
He is the chosen Iwagakure shinobi to potentially succeed the current holder of the alias . After the shogun came to Iwagakure for assistance in retrieving the Elixir of Life from Kotaku, having become impatient with the first group, the shinobi, along with a squad of Iwa ninja, was assigned to the second team to complete the mission and supposedly provide support to the first team. In actuality, the Iwa ninjas' true mission is to kill Gabimaru who was assigned to the first team and take back the alias. Appearance He has long, slick dark hair and noticeable shadows below his eyes. His attire consists of the standard uniform of a Iwagakure ninja, which is a black robe with long sleeves that are frayed, a black tattsuke bakama, and a frayed white sash tied at the waist. He also wore a mask that was later cut in half by Kiyomaru. Gallery Gabimaru Elect full appearance.png|The shinobi's full appearance. Gabimaru's mask.png|The shinobi's cut off mask. Child Gabimaru Elect.png|The shinobi as a child. Personality He is a reserved individual with the complete mindset of a shinobi. As a shinobi, he follows the shinobi rules, one of them being that he views himself as a pawn for his master and only prioritizes on the orders he has been given on a mission no matter what the situation was. To this extent, he also holds no sense of concern for his ninja allies since they too follow the same belief. After Yamada Asaemon Kiyomaru ordered the former leader of the ninja squad to kill himself, the shinobi was unfazed by his death and merely followed his orders of leading the squad before his passing. Another example being how he ignored the fact that a hand full of his subordinates were slaughtered by a Mōnshin and simply gave the order to one of them that was still alive to kill it despite the state they were in. He is also very observant as he had taken notes of the Asaemons personalities. The shinobi has respect and a strong fondness towards Gabimaru, admiring his skills in ruthlessly killing his targets. Whenever he met or thought about Gabimaru, the shinobi would usually break out of his reserved attitude. He believes that the current inheritor is truly worthy of the name "Gabimaru" and will not stand by as others doubt him. Even after he had defected from the village, and is now seen as an embarrassment by the chief, the shinobi still holds his respect for Gabimaru, believing that the dangers of Kotaku would not be enough to kill him. The shinobi's love for Gabimaru can be seen as an obsession. He thinks of himself as Gabimaru's supporter and was driven to commit horrendously violent acts from the shadows for his sake. During the training regiments, the shinobi killed all the other candidates to make sure that no one would interfere with Gabimaru's selection and skinned alive those that were envious of him at the end of his inauguration ceremony. He also outwardly admitted to Gabimaru that he was even willing to die by his hands and that the only person he desired to kill was him, showing mental signs of insanity. He is loyal to Iwagakure and puts the chief's orders above those of the missions he takes. However, because of his love for Gabimaru, the shinobi chose to instead make it his task to drag him back to the village instead of following his orders of killing him. History When he was young, the shinobi underwent intense ninja training, along with many other children, to become Iwagakure's next "Gabimaru the Hollow". Among the candidates was a boy who the shinobi had developed a crush on because of his remarkable talent. He saw him befitting of inheriting the title and made sure it would happen by killing the other candidates one by one. The shinobi soon completed his ninja training and happily watched as the young boy he admired become the next Gabimaru. On the night of the inauguration, the shinobi noticed how a few of his peers became jealous of Gabimaru and dealt with them by skinning them alive. He was then found by Gabimaru at the scene and explained to him that he has been supporting him ever since they were young. During one mission, the shinobi, along with the other elites led by Gabimaru, were task with retrieving a ledger from the Temple Commissioner. The squad completes the mission but were oddly ordered by Gabimaru to only knock the men unconscious and not cause any bloodshed. Later, the squad takes on a mission to kill their previous employer and his wife but instead attack Gabimaru after he had refused to kill them. The shinobi becomes outraged but is informed by another shinobi that they were carrying out orders from their chief to test Gabimaru's worth as a ninja. He then watches in delight as Gabimaru kills the ninjas and allows the employer and his wife to walk freely. Plot Lord Tensen Arc Having become impatient with the first departed group to capture the Elixir of Life from a mystic island, the shogun hires Iwagakure and holds a screening where criminals had to fight to the death to determine the next participants. The shinobi participated in the screening and became one of the four ninja that had survived. Having caught wind that Gabimaru is part of the first expedition team, the Iwagakure chief assigns the ninjas with their main task of eliminating him while following the orders of the four hired Asaemon on the mission: Kiyomaru, Isuzu, Jikka, and Shugen. The shinobi is then told by the chief that he has been chosen as the next successor to become Gabimaru the Hollow but must first kill the current Gabimaru in order to take his rightful place. During the departure, the shinobi's mask is cut off by Kiyomaru after boosting about his skills. He then orders one of the elite ninjas to kill himself to prove their loyalty. Before following through with the order he has been given, the elite ninja passes on the task of leading the genin to the shinobi, which he accepts. Having proven himself, the shinobi assures the Asaemon of their duties and asks that they put their faith in them. Upon arriving on the island, Shugen breaks down into tears after finding the corpse of Yamada Asaemon Eizen and holds a prayer. The shinobi takes note of the Asaemon's personalities and remembers his duties of eliminating Gabimaru. The group are then attack by a horde of Mōnshin led by a Dōshi. While the Asaemon attack them, the shinobi orders the genin to kill one of them. After finishing his prayer to the deceased Eizen, Shugen takes down the Dōshi and attempts to extract information from him. The shinobi requests that the ninja handle this task since they specialize in interrogation. Palace Invasion Arc The shinobi reports to Shugen that the genin have found traces of two more deceased Asaemon and found the Mōnshin nest. Shugen then uses the Whistle of Mounts to summon the Mōnshin and have them carry the Asaemon to Hōrai while the ninja follow them on foot. After arriving in Hōrai, Shugen has the Mōnshin breach the walls of the Hōrai Palace and orders the Iwa ninja to kill the convicts and any Asaemon who have sided with them. Abilities and Powers Having been chosen to become the next successor to the alias, Gabimaru the Hollow, the strongest shinobi in Iwagakure, the shinobi is undoubtedly very powerful and stands above all other ninja in Iwagakure. During a screening held by the shogun where criminals had to fight to the death, the shinobi was capable of killing every criminal on the spot.Jigokuraku Chapter 36, page 8 As an elite shinobi and the next successor, the shinobi has the authority over the genin and has the capabilities of leading them. Ninjutsu As a shinobi, he is capable of using ninjutsu. Espionage The shinobi has skills in stealth and infiltration, capable of entering and escaping a fortress made by Hattori Hanzō's descendants that is meant to confuse shinobi spies with its maze layout setup with traps.Jigokuraku Special Chapter, page 13 References Category:Characters Category:Male Category:Shinobi Category:Iwagakure